Outfit: Vanessa

Lindy Bop is a company whose offerings I have admired for a while but which until recently I had never actually shopped with. I wanted some smart pencil dresses for something I went to recently, and I discovered that Lindy Bop had some which were a really nice design and also fitted well into my budget.

Overall I'm pleased - the fit is almost perfect except for the width of the shoulders (it gapes a bit on me, so this is probably not a style suited to petite ladies), and the quality is as you'd expect for the price. This dress is actually lined in a lightweight material throughout the skirt and the back of the bodice, which is a nice extra touch. It has a tendency to ride up slightly when I'm walking, although it's very minimal. The second dress I bought is not lined in the skirt and it rides up a lot more.

Due to the slim fit of this dress I am wearing shapewear (in the form of a What Katie Did girdle) - it's not the tightest dress on the planet but I do find that shapewear helps keep a smooth silhouette underneath more fitted garments even on slim women. Because it's a modern dress I'm not wearing a bullet bra, although I'm wondering if in this case it might improve the fit where it's a little loose around the top.

I'm wearing a UK size 8, which according to the website has a 32" bust and 26" waist. My own actual measurements are somewhere in the region of 34" bust and 25" waist, so I think if you have a small waist you could probably size down as the sizing seems to be quite generous in the bust.

As you can see the wind was not kind to my hair, but I did take a selfie before leaving the house. My hairdresser Jac recently cut my hair in an authentic 1940s middy (as per the middy long diagram, but actually a bit longer) and I'm really enjoying styling it. I'm finding it very different to style compared to my previously long and unlayered hair, but the results (when I'm not battling the wind) are much better.

Beautiful!!! I love the way the red contrasts with the herringbone, such a nice combination of colours. I recently bought some herringbone trousers and I need to figure out what colors to style them with :D

I'm intrigued by this dress as the sister to the flared Ophelia style, but sounds like it won't work on me as I'm not only petite but my waist is 27" while my bust is 34", so I'm not going to get into an 8! Shame :( you look fab though and I love the hair! CC

What a lovely dress. :) I can recommend you DaisyDapper.com (Swedish brand), they make some really lovely wiggle dresses that fits like a dream. I own quite a few myself. I will recommend you to (also) wear a vintage style slip under your dress, this way it won't ride up. I have become quite addicted to vintage slips, my mom gave five different from her youth, they are both lovely, feminine and practical. I will check out LindyBob. Have a nice day. :)

You look gorgeous! I have the same (blue polkadot version) dress and I also find the armholes a bit to big, it's not tight in the bust area (more on the lose side) but still gapes a lot, my bra even shows when I lift my arm.I really like your hair! I am thinking about getting a Middy but are a bit scared because I not yet masterd the art of pin-curling, and a Middy doesn't look nice without curls (at least, that is what I've heard.)Lots of love from the Netherlands!

Hi Eveline,You've heard mostly right - I wear mine straight sometimes and although I do still like it, it's much better when curled. Because my middy is as per the diagram, there's an obvious "corner" at the front which doesn't look as nice when my hair is straight. My hairdresser said she could blend that corner into the rest of my hair if I wanted to be able to wear it straight, so that would be an option if you decided to take the plunge.

I would definitely recommend learning how to curl your hair before getting it cut into a middy, however you could always curl it with foam rollers, rag curls, or even a curling iron if you wanted to. I used to mostly rag curl my hair as well as doing an occasional foam roller set, but I'm finding that using pin curls on the middy cut gives me exactly the shape I'm looking for.

Seriously beautiful! What an elegant, flattering, classic shape and colour palette. This is one of the chicest repro/vintage style frocks I've seen in ages.

Lindy Bop was a brand I had long admired, but not actually purchased until this past Christmas, when a generous gift allowed me to pick up four or their frocks during a 20% (I think - 20 or 25 percent) off sale. I haven't sported them on camera yet, as we were just clawing our way out of winter until recently, but hope to start sharing some in the near future.

This style looks so effortlessly chic on you Helen, and I love the pairing of the houndstooth and red. I have one Lindy Bop dress myself that I love, and find very comfortable to wear, so it's great to read some reviews on more of the pieces that they have. ❤